Last orders at Dog and Partridge as pub makes way for new homes

ONE of Stalybridge’s most historic pubs has had its last orders and closed its doors as it is to be converted into three apartments.

The Dog and Partridge, Mottram Road, called time at the end of November after almost 150 years in a shock move for regulars.

Jason Roper, who bought the pub off Punch Taverns in 2012, said: “It is a damn shame and we all miss it terribly but financially it was not viable.

“I have been a bank manager for 21 years and never taken a wage from the 12 years I have been involved. That has allowed us to keep the pub afloat so long.”

Jason revealed he was given planning permission two years ago to develop the building into three apartments with six four-bedroomed townhouses on the car park.

He added: “We continued and tried to trade but with planning permission expiring after three years we had to make a decision.

“When you look at our costs, that were increasing, and custom going down because alcohol is so cheap in supermarkets and more people are drinking at home or in restaurants, it got to the stage we couldn’t continue.

“Unfortunately in today’s age and if you do not do food, you cannot live.”

Jason was one of five who acquired a lease for the Dog and Partridge in 2007 and he bought the pub outright from Punch Taverns in 2012.

His brother Mike Pollard managed the pub, which is believed to have been licensed premise since 1870, for five years and Jason’s wife Jordan helped run it for the last 18 months.

Jason added the customers at the pub had become more like family.

“I got married abroad but when I came home had a big wedding party at the pub for 150 people. We had a brilliant time,” he said.

Some said they were “gutted” and thanked those who owned it over the years for the decades of memories at the establishment.

And on social media Jason described closing as “a decision which wasn’t taken lightly and breaks our hearts”.

Customers were also thanked on social media in the statement that said: “The friends we have met will last forever. The memories created will never be forgotten.

“From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for all your loyalty and love that you have given us over the years.”

Fantastic old English pub in its day, but when that clown took over he ran it into the ground and it became a cesspit of full of chavs and druggies. I guess he will make a few quid and not worry about ruining a cherished piece of local history.